The effects of message framing in CSR advertising on consumers’ emotions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions

• Autor(a) principal: Stadlthanner, Katja Anna
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Andreu, Luisa, Ribeiro, Manuel Alector, Font, Xavier, Mattila, Anna S.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/18291
• topic: Message framing; Emotions; Environmental behavior; Experimental design; Stimulus-organism-response framework; Prospect theory

While recent research on sustainability communication demonstrates the relevance of message framing, research on the effects of message framing on consumers' emotions is scant. Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (5-0-R) framework, this paper examines the impact of environmental advertisements (stimuli) on two discrete emotions - hope and guilt - (organism) and how these emotions influence consumers' behavioral intentions (responses). Relying on the prospect theory, this study focuses on positive (gain) and negative (loss) frames. Study 1 shows that, in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a gain message elicits hope while a loss-message triggers guilt. Study 2 shows that both emotions positively influence consumers' attitudes toward the cause; however, only hope affects attitude toward the company. Attitudes toward the cause and the company, in turn, influence consumers' behavioral intentions.